Between chilly outdoor air and blasting indoor heat, winter in Northern California can leave your skin feeling like sandpaper. Even if you’re drinking plenty of water and slathering on lotion, dryness seems to win every year.

Here are four ways to help your skin survive the season (you probably haven’t thought about the last one!)

Four Ways to Help Your Skin Survive the Season

Hydrate from the Inside Out

Your skin’s moisture doesn’t just come from what you put on it; it starts with what you drink!

1. Keep a water bottle nearby and top it up throughout the day. When it’s hot outside, many automatically think about hydrating, but even when it’s cold out, we can become dehydrated.
2. Herbal teas! Peppermint, chamomile, and rooibos tea are all hydrating and a great way to warm up
3. Be mindful of caffeine and alcohol, both of which are popular during the winter months, but they do add to our dehydration!

Local tip: In Butte County, our dry winter air can be deceiving. You may not feel thirsty, but your body still needs plenty of water to stay balanced.

Moisturize Smarter, Not Harder

If your lotion feels like it’s doing nothing, timing might be the issue.

1. Apply moisturizer to your face, neck, body, and feet immediately after showering because that’s when your skin can trap water best. Dermatologists call this the “soak and smear” rule: you soak up moisture from your shower, then seal it in before it evaporates.
2. Go for thicker creams or ointments (skip watery lotions). Some people with dry skin even use coconut oil, but you could look for a lotion that has at least some natural oils in it.
3. Avoid heavily scented products that can irritate already-sensitive skin. A lot of the luxury-branded lotions that come with a perfume gift pack are especially guilty of this, plus many of them are also too watery.

Adjust Your Environment

Sometimes your surroundings are working against you.

1. Use a humidifier to add moisture back into dry, heated indoor air. Your houseplants will thank you, too. An old-school trick is to place a small bowl of water near heaters or vents.
2. As much as we like to crank up the heat when we feel cold, try to take lukewarm showers instead of super hot ones. Too much heat strips your skin of its natural oils, which means you’ll have to re-supply them afterwards. That’s tiring for the skin!
3. Layer breathable cotton under wool or polyester sweaters to prevent itching and irritation.

Check Your Water: The Game-Changer

You can drink more water, use better creams, and tweak your environment, but if your home’s water is hard, your skin is still fighting an uphill battle.

Hard water in Butte County is loaded with minerals like calcium and magnesium. When you shower, those minerals leave a residue that blocks pores, dulls your skin, and makes moisturizers less effective. Add chlorine from municipal water, and it’s no wonder so many locals struggle with dryness and eczema flare-ups each winter. So how to fix that?

Get a water softener. A water softener like this one from Culligan removes those hard minerals, leaving your water (and your skin) feeling silky smooth. It’s like upgrading from a harsh desert wind to a gentle Chico breeze.

Real Results:

“…after years of problems with dry skin and wrong diagnoses by dermatologists (dermatitis, eczema, etc.) my skin improved The First Shower I took! I no longer have to deal with ointments and creams for hours after a shower.”
— Jim E., Culligan of Chico customer (via Google Maps)

Other local homeowners have told us their eczema improved once they switched to softened water. When your skin finally gets a break from mineral buildup, healing happens naturally.

The Bottom Line

If you’re tired of slathering on lotion that never seems to help, maybe it’s time to look at what’s coming out of your tap, not just what’s in your bathroom cabinet.

Culligan of Chico offers free water testing, so you can see what’s in your water and how to make it work for you, not against you.

👉 Schedule your free water test and make this the winter your skin actually enjoys.

Frequently Asked Questions